I'm writing this because I wanted to address the rumors that have been circulating about the future of our division. As you know, last month we were informed by company management that the structure of the company website ? the primary task of our Electronic Resources division ? would be reviewed. Many of you also know the reason for this review: some top executives were complaining about what they perceived as a lack of efficiency in keeping the website current. As a result, there are rumors going around that the website may be outsourced to an external company, and all the employees of this division could be laid off.

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only ONE word in each space.

People have always dreamed of living forever, and although we all know this will (1) ........................ happen, we still want to live as long as possible. Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages to a long (2) ........................

In the first place, people (3) ........................ live longer can spend more time with their family and friends. Secondly, people who have busy working lives look forward to a long, relaxing time when they can do the things they have never had time for.

(4) ........................ the other hand, there are some serious disadvantages. Firstly, many people become ill and consequently have to (5) ........................ time in hospital or become (6) ........................ on their children and friends. Many of them (7) ........................ this dependence annoying or embarrassing. In addition to this, the (8) ........................ people get, the fewer friends they seem to have because old friends die or become ill and it's often (9) ........................ to make new friends.

To sum up, it seems that living to a very old age is worthwhile for people who stay healthy (10) ........................ to remain independent and enjoy life.

Few people can embody the spirit of early America as much as Benjamin Franklin. He lived through almost the whole of the eighteenth century, being born six years after it began, and dying ten
years before it ended. In this time he saw the American colonies grow from tiny settlements into a nation, and he also contributed much to the development of the new state.

At the age of 17 Franklin ran away to Philadelphia. He had already received some training as a printer’s apprentice, and this helped him seven years later, with his first publication, the Pennsylvania Gazette. He also received a contract to do government printing work, which helped him to rise from his poor background to become a successful entrepreneur. Some of his experience in business was shared in his famous Poor Richard’s Almanak, which established his reputation throughout the American colonies. In another of his works, the Autobiography, which was written
toward the end of his life, he shows the same quiet common sense. He was deeply interested in science and natural history, and his experiments with electricity and lightning led directly to the invention of the lightning rod. He was also interested in improving the conditions of his fellow men. He was involved in a number of projects in his native Philadelphia, including the setting up of a library, a university, a philosophical society, and - because he was a pragmatic man - a fire prevention service. In 1753 he became Postmaster-General of the colonies.

Through this experience he began to develop the idea that the colonies of North America should be a single nation. Later, he went to London to try to persuade the British government to change the conditions, especially the taxes, that later led the American colonists into rebellion. Whatever Benjamin Franklin’s personal feelings about the rebellion of the American states, he worked hard to make it succeed. As ambassador to France, he encouraged the French to help George Washington. After the war he attended the American constitutional congress. This was his last contribution, for he died later that year. He is still fondly remembered by Americans as one of the creators of the United States.